Council papers have disclosed that one of England’s longest-running folk festivals was called off following a £320,000 deficit in the previous year.
The yearly four-day Cambridge Folk Festival, organized by the Cambridge City Council, commenced in 1965 and has taken place in the grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall ever since.
Documents released by the council before the meeting scheduled for Thursday mentioned the “financial challenges encountered by the folk festival.”
The statement indicated that they have allocated “£75,000 for organizing an alternate series of folk-themed events in 2025,” preceding the complete festival’s comeback in 2026.
The
the cancellation of this summer’s event
was announced in January.
The festival has welcomed international headline acts like Robert Plant, Joan Baez, James Taylor, Van Morrison, Nick Cave, Lady Blackbird, Peggy Seeger, and Suzanne Vega, usually drawing around 14,000 attendees.
Robert Dryden, a Labour city councilor for the region, stated in January that the cancellation was quite surprising and would disappoint many individuals.
The Labour-controlled Cambridge City Council has released documents ahead of a
review session on March 20
This will examine the factors leading to the cancellation.
The council stated that the documents will “plainly detail the choices made by the festival organizers… to guarantee the bright upcoming prospects for the cherished Cambridge Folk Festival.”
The publications go on to say: “The British music festival sector is grappling with significant economic challenges.”
These have significantly affected the continuity of festivals in recent years.
Big companies have taken over the festival scene.
In 2024, Latitude, typically scheduled for the second-to-last weekend of July, decided to shift to the final weekend of July, putting it directly at odds with the Cambridge Folk Festival.
The council mentioned that they reviewed input from participants in 2024 and noted that several people hinted at smaller crowds, attributing this decrease to conflicts with other events such as Latitude.
The document also states: “In 2024, the folk festival experienced a preliminary deficit of £0.32 million. Before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, it typically generated an average profit exceeding £0.2 million annually, which was utilized to support free community events in Cambridge.”
The council said that “while revenues have remained broadly stable, costs have increased significantly as they have for the whole of the UK festival sector”.
It stated its dedication to ensuring the continued prosperity of the globally recognized Cambridge Folk Festival.
“During the 2025 fallow year, the council will review the format of the festival so that it can return in 2026.”
The announcement included plans for additional entertainment such as free open-air events and indoor folk performances. The organization promised further information about these activities in April.
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- Cambridge City Council
